Sad news...Sage (and the world) has lost a wonderful woman
Received this from a coworker today-
IN MEMORIAM
AGNES C. STILLMAN, ED.D.
1945 - 2008
The Sage Colleges Community mourns the death on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 of Dr. Agnes C. “Aggie” Stillman, Associate Professor of Library Science and Director of Archives. Aggie battled cancer for many years with courage and optimism, until the disease finally prevailed.
Agnes Stillman received her B.S. in Physical Education in 1967 from the University of Massachusetts and her M.S. in 1971 from Smith College. She taught briefly at the high school level before coming to Russell Sage College in 1971 as an Instructor in Physical Education. She was promoted subsequently to Assistant Professor (1974) and Associate Professor (1980) and served as a coach for softball and tennis teams. In 1987 she earned her Ed.D. in Exercise Science from Teachers College of Columbia University. In the early 1990s she became Transfer Student Coordinator for RSC and later Coordinator of Admission for the Sage Evening College. In 1994, after the closing of the Physical Education major at Russell Sage, she was appointed to her present position and earned the M.L.S. degree from the University at Albany in 1995.
Besides her faculty duties, Aggie Stillman was an exemplary citizen of Sage and was given the Distinguished Service Award in 1990. For more than twenty years she was an academic advisor for PE and “undecided” majors and since 1990 served as a first-year mentor. She was a member of the former RSC Faculty Senate and Community Council, and in recent years Chair of the Associate Degree Committee for SCA and the RSC Academic Standards Committee. A precise grammarian, she also taught introductory writing classes in the English department . During a sabbatical leave in Spring 2001, she researched and wrote a brief history of the Physical Education department at Sage.
But of course this chronology fails to capture the essence of Aggie as we knew her.
When she came to Russell Sage in 1971, it was love at first sight-Aggie for the college and the students for Aggie. Physical Education majors from those early years will never forget her classes in bowling and folk dancing. For Aggie, being a first-year mentor to an incoming class meant a lifetime relationship with each of its members. She was awarded honorary rings by the Classes of 1979 and 1991 and was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society in 1996. She served repeatedly as a class advisor, including the Golden Horseshoes of 2004 and 2008. She was twice made an honorary Sagette and her second favorite song (next to the Alma Mater) was “Seven Daffodils.”
Aggie and Russell the Alligator never missed an athletic contest if she could help it and she was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002. She loved her work in the archives and her “Ask Aggie” column for the RSC Connections publication, but hated being downstairs where she couldn’t see students coming and going in the library. She had outfits in all of the RSC class colors, recently adding an orange one for SCA. The informal guardian of RSC history and traditions, Aggie was especially interested in the life of Mrs. Russell Sage and contributed to the recently published biography. She saved bottles and cans for the Rally Day competition, where a special verse was added to the ritual welcome song (are the seniors here? are the advisors here? are the judges here?): Is Aggie Here?
Aggie’s reach extended well beyond the Sage campus. She was associated for many years with the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NYSAHPERD), serving at various leadership levels including membership on the statewide Executive Board from 1986-1991 and as president of the Capital Zone Executive Board from 1986-1988. In 1993 she received the State Service Award, NYSAHPERD’s highest honor. She also served as a member of the Executive Board of the Capital Area Archivists from 1995-1997 and for three years as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rensselaer County Historical Society.
Perhaps most important to Aggie in her life beyond Sage was her deep religious faith and her commitment to service in that context. In 2001, she completed a certificate in Bereavement Studies at Maria College and contributed to the Bereavement Ministry at St. Mary’s Church of Clinton Heights. She was also a lector and Eucharistic minister at St. Mary’s and had entered into an associate relationship with the Sisters of Mercy. In a recent essay, “How I Cope With Disease,” Aggie had this to say:
It is my belief that when I die I will join my God, the God who created
me and has surrounded me and has journeyed with me through this
earthly life. I rejoice in that belief; so if I die of this present cancer,
I’m a winner!
You are, indeed, Aggie, and so are all of us who have been privileged to know you.
A funeral service will be scheduled this week at St. Mary’s Church of Clinton Heights, 163 Columbia Turnpike, Rensselaer, NY. Details will be provided as soon as they are available. Plans for a campus memorial service are in progress.
IN MEMORIAM
AGNES C. STILLMAN, ED.D.
1945 - 2008
The Sage Colleges Community mourns the death on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 of Dr. Agnes C. “Aggie” Stillman, Associate Professor of Library Science and Director of Archives. Aggie battled cancer for many years with courage and optimism, until the disease finally prevailed.
Agnes Stillman received her B.S. in Physical Education in 1967 from the University of Massachusetts and her M.S. in 1971 from Smith College. She taught briefly at the high school level before coming to Russell Sage College in 1971 as an Instructor in Physical Education. She was promoted subsequently to Assistant Professor (1974) and Associate Professor (1980) and served as a coach for softball and tennis teams. In 1987 she earned her Ed.D. in Exercise Science from Teachers College of Columbia University. In the early 1990s she became Transfer Student Coordinator for RSC and later Coordinator of Admission for the Sage Evening College. In 1994, after the closing of the Physical Education major at Russell Sage, she was appointed to her present position and earned the M.L.S. degree from the University at Albany in 1995.
Besides her faculty duties, Aggie Stillman was an exemplary citizen of Sage and was given the Distinguished Service Award in 1990. For more than twenty years she was an academic advisor for PE and “undecided” majors and since 1990 served as a first-year mentor. She was a member of the former RSC Faculty Senate and Community Council, and in recent years Chair of the Associate Degree Committee for SCA and the RSC Academic Standards Committee. A precise grammarian, she also taught introductory writing classes in the English department . During a sabbatical leave in Spring 2001, she researched and wrote a brief history of the Physical Education department at Sage.
But of course this chronology fails to capture the essence of Aggie as we knew her.
When she came to Russell Sage in 1971, it was love at first sight-Aggie for the college and the students for Aggie. Physical Education majors from those early years will never forget her classes in bowling and folk dancing. For Aggie, being a first-year mentor to an incoming class meant a lifetime relationship with each of its members. She was awarded honorary rings by the Classes of 1979 and 1991 and was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society in 1996. She served repeatedly as a class advisor, including the Golden Horseshoes of 2004 and 2008. She was twice made an honorary Sagette and her second favorite song (next to the Alma Mater) was “Seven Daffodils.”
Aggie and Russell the Alligator never missed an athletic contest if she could help it and she was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002. She loved her work in the archives and her “Ask Aggie” column for the RSC Connections publication, but hated being downstairs where she couldn’t see students coming and going in the library. She had outfits in all of the RSC class colors, recently adding an orange one for SCA. The informal guardian of RSC history and traditions, Aggie was especially interested in the life of Mrs. Russell Sage and contributed to the recently published biography. She saved bottles and cans for the Rally Day competition, where a special verse was added to the ritual welcome song (are the seniors here? are the advisors here? are the judges here?): Is Aggie Here?
Aggie’s reach extended well beyond the Sage campus. She was associated for many years with the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NYSAHPERD), serving at various leadership levels including membership on the statewide Executive Board from 1986-1991 and as president of the Capital Zone Executive Board from 1986-1988. In 1993 she received the State Service Award, NYSAHPERD’s highest honor. She also served as a member of the Executive Board of the Capital Area Archivists from 1995-1997 and for three years as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rensselaer County Historical Society.
Perhaps most important to Aggie in her life beyond Sage was her deep religious faith and her commitment to service in that context. In 2001, she completed a certificate in Bereavement Studies at Maria College and contributed to the Bereavement Ministry at St. Mary’s Church of Clinton Heights. She was also a lector and Eucharistic minister at St. Mary’s and had entered into an associate relationship with the Sisters of Mercy. In a recent essay, “How I Cope With Disease,” Aggie had this to say:
It is my belief that when I die I will join my God, the God who created
me and has surrounded me and has journeyed with me through this
earthly life. I rejoice in that belief; so if I die of this present cancer,
I’m a winner!
You are, indeed, Aggie, and so are all of us who have been privileged to know you.
A funeral service will be scheduled this week at St. Mary’s Church of Clinton Heights, 163 Columbia Turnpike, Rensselaer, NY. Details will be provided as soon as they are available. Plans for a campus memorial service are in progress.